The Great Mahjong

The Great Mahjong offers two ways to approach the same board. In Classic mode the developer suggests thinking about how to get the most points out of it. In Time Attack the aim changes to clearing the board as quickly as you can. Either way the work is the same: select a tile, find its identical partner, and remove the pair until nothing is left.

Which tiles you can select is set by a two-part rule. A tile must have no tiles on top of it, and it must be free on its left or its right side. Tiles failing either test are locked until whatever covers or flanks them has been cleared. The developer says there are many layouts to choose from, without giving a number, and describes the design as pleasing. It does not explain how points are worked out in Classic mode.

Pick Classic mode if you want to play for points, or Time Attack if you would rather go for speed. Then select a tile that has nothing on top of it and a free left or right side, and select an identical tile that passes the same test. The pair comes off the board. Repeat until the layout has been cleared completely.

The developer does not list the controls for this game. It runs inside the frame above, so a click or a tap on the game is the place to start.

Decide which mode you are playing before you start, because the goals differ: points in Classic, speed in Time Attack. For either one, check the top of a tile first and its sides second. A tile can have a free side and still be covered, and covered tiles cannot be selected.

Mahjong solitaire with the usual free-tile rule, in a landscape frame. There are two modes, Classic and Time Attack, and many layouts. The developer does not name any input device, so the controls section stays empty.

Mahjong Bird Tiles applies the same covered-or-open test across layered boards. Mahjong Tower HD lets you choose from layouts shaped like pyramids, castles and Tai Chi diagrams.